Basketball

San Antonio was on Irving’s list of preferred destinations, and while a Kawhi-Kyrie pairing would be fun, the pathway to a trade is a tricky one.

Any team entertaining a Kyrie Irving trade does so knowing he has two years left on his contract and can become a free agent in 2019. But according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, one team is willing to pull the trigger on a deal knowing the All-Star point guard would re-sign long-term: the San Antonio Spurs.

Wade and the Chicago Bulls are expected to reach a buyout agreement in the coming months, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, who writes that the 35-year-old guard “isn't long for the organization's future.”

The Road Trippin’ podcast with Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye is a gift that keeps on giving. It’s unusually and legitimately candid, which is an increasingly difficult thing to get from professional athletes these days. It helps that the two are orating from platforms they’ve chosen, but they also choose to be honest.

The 2016-17 season was a milestone one for Giannis Antetokounmpo. In February he played in his first All-Star Game, in May he was named to the All-NBA second-team, and in June he earned the league's Most Improved Player trophy. While racking up honor after honor, the Milwaukee Bucks forward was being paid by Nike to wear the company's sneakers. His take on that deal? A mere $25,000.

Editors Pick

I READ somewhere that the DPWH is allocating mega billions for infrastructure projects designed to ease the traffic problem besetting much of urban Philippines. I can imagine how a big chunk of that moolah will be devoted to infra projects within Metro Manila - more street widenings, more flyovers, maybe more pedestrian overpasses and underpasses as well as flood control.

As I flew out of Manila yesterday morning I noticed that it happened to be a clear day over most of the NCR, and what big clouds there were weren’t big enough to cover everything. So our PAL Airbus A330 flew around the giant clouds and in between them you could catch a glimpse of considerable sections of Metro Manila. My younger brother seated behind me pointed out UP Diliman - and I marveled at the way the campus was green as seen from the air and at how it was laid out.

SO says the text on an Independence Day special edition mug issued by Bo’s Coffee for June 12. I smiled upon reading the text because I had some friends in mind who have chosen to remain free (and, they claim, happy) all their lives. (These are the ones who divide their friends by saying half are married and half are happy!) And then I started thinking about the country - and whether indeed Filipinos are happy and free.